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We all face difficult seasons in our lives. These difficult seasons range from tension in close relationships, to financial hardship, to health challenges and beyond. I don’t know what challenges you may be facing today, but I wanted to encourage you, that you are not alone. One of the questions I am meditating on and praying about in this season of my life is what is the purpose of these challenges that we face.
One of the verses that I have been drawn to this week is
“Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.”
Romans 5:3-5 NIV
https://bible.com/bible/111/rom.5.3-4.NIV
Yes, like you, I have read these verses before, studied them… and maybe even memorized them… but life circumstances have a way of making us pause, be still, and reflect back on verses that come alive again in the new seasons we find ourselves in. So today in my quiet time of reflection and prayer, I looked at this verses anew, from a different translation, or more accurately Eugene Peterson’s The Message paraphrase…. It does provide a fresh perspective…
“There’s more to come: We continue to shout our praise even when we’re hemmed in with troubles, because we know how troubles can develop passionate patience in us, and how that patience in turn forges the tempered steel of virtue, keeping us alert for whatever God will do next. In alert expectancy such as this, we’re never left feeling short changed. Quite the contrary—we can’t round up enough containers to hold everything God generously pours into our lives through the Holy Spirit!”
Romans 5:3-5 MSG
https://bible.com/bible/97/rom.5.3-5.MSG
Trust that you will find encouragement in the words that the Apostle Paul wrote from his difficult season…. He was not on vacation when he wrote these words. He was sitting in confinement, his freedoms stripped away, suffering.
God,
I pray that you will help us see the purpose of our difficult seasons. That we would understand that we have not been singled out, nor are we alone. But rather these troubles are here to help us develop a passionate patience that will develop our character, which results in hope. I pray that in the midst of being hemmed in on all sides by troubles, that we would round up containers to hold everything that You generously pour into our lives. May we see your goodness each day as we wait patiently for you and watch you generously pour out your kindness and mercy on us.
-Stan Reiff
